


Sign of the Times

by dancinglily



Series: A Hundred Lifetimes [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Actor James Potter, Actress Lily Evans, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Making Out, Marauders' Era, Singer and Guitarist James Potter, The Marauders Band
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 18:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13254549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinglily/pseuds/dancinglily
Summary: ‘Sign of the Times’ Official Twitter@signofthetimesofficial“Just announced:@thejamespotter, guitarist and lead singer of the much celebrated band @themarauders, will be co-staring with@lilyevansofficialin Beedle The Bard’s upcoming film Sign of the Times, coming to theaters in August 2017!”or, band member and soon-to-be-actor!James Potter is cast in actress!Lily Evans’ upcoming movie and she’s not too happy about it.





	Sign of the Times

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I may have written this oneshot just to be able to describe James Potter as Harry Styles performing [Sign of the Times](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8R-zl7SDUU) on the Graham Norton show.

**_July_** **_2016_** _, Twitter_

‘ **Sign of the Times’ Official Twitter**

@signofthetimesofficial

 _“Just announced: @thejamespotter, guitarist and lead singer of the much celebrated band @themarauders, will be co-staring with @lilyevansofficial in Beedle The Bard’s upcoming film_ Sign of the Times _, coming to theaters in_ **_August 2017_ ** _!”_

* * *

**_August_** **_2017_** _, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, L.A._

 

The audience breaks into a wave of applause as Lily walks onto the stage alongside James and shakes hands with a beaming  and eager Jimmy Fallon. They smile and wave to the roaring and whistling audience screaming their names, which Lily, after years of experience, has learned not to be overwhelmed by. James on the other hand, encouraged by the crowd’s cheers, takes her hand and ushers her to her seat, comically bowing as she sits down, earning himself an eyeroll from Lily. The uproar from the audience doubles.

“You know, James, now I know that _Teen Weekly_ is a reliable source,” Jimmy says over the jeers of the audience, sitting down as James does the same. “Since I just read in one of their articles that you are quite a gentleman.”

Lily snorts and cuts James off before he's able to say anything. “He only does that when there are cameras around. Usually he's just like ‘Get out of the way, Lily, the last pancake is mine!’,” she says, pretending to shout and shove someone out of the way.

General laughter rises from the audience.

“Is this true, James?” Jimmy says, resting his chin on his palm and adopting a would-be concerned look.

“I refuse to make a statement in the absence of my publicist,” James says, pretending to adjust his cufflinks, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“So, tell me, Lily, James, you've both had a pretty crazy few months, right?”

James and Lily both look at each other knowingly and nod.

“I mean, both of you starring in a big picture, directed by Beedle the Bard, nonetheless.”

“Not to mention that James and his band dropped an album a couple months ago which broke records barely days after coming out,” Lily adds, putting her hands on each of James shoulders.

“Also,” James interjects. “Let us not forget that Lily was barely done promoting her last film when we started filming _Sign of the Times_. Poor thing doesn't catch a break,” he says, shaking his head sadly.

“But James - ” Lily starts.

Jimmy looks at them, unable to hide his amusement. “Is this an altruistic edition of my boat is bigger than your boat?”

“This is reverse competitivity,” Lily says. “Or, as we like to call it, ‘Who can embarrass the other the most by acting like a proud mama boasting her child’s exploits’.”

“Well, _Sign of the Times_ is definitely something being proud of - ” A few people in the crowd whistle in agreement. “ - will you tell us a bit about it?”

“Well, it's - ”

“It starts with - ”

James and Lily both stop, waiting for the other to speak first.

“Ladies first,” James says.

“Stop trying to have more articles published in teen magazines about your gentleman-like manners,” Lily teases, eyeing him sideways.

James places his palm on his chest, seemingly offended. “I would never.”

“Well, the film is set in a small town of late eighteenth century England,” Lily says. “And, basically, it tells the classic story of a wealthy landowner and a poor blacksmith’s daughter who fall in love against all odds.”

“Only, in this retelling there is witchcraft involved,” James adds.

“That is, Lucy Edwards, the character I play, is accused of having bewitched James’ character - ” she says, absentmindedly putting her hand on her co-star’s arm. “ - Jacob Phillips to make him fall in love with her.”

“And, thus, chaos ensues,” James says with a flourish of his hand.

“I saw the chaos, I loved the chaos,” Jimmy says, barely catching a breath between each word. “Everything was so believable, the chemistry between Lucy and Jacob was great, the sword fight scenes were amazing, everything was great, let's watch a little clip.”

The three of them turn towards the big screen set in front of the audience and a bustling small street appears on it, with a row of low town houses and shops and stands lining each of its sides. The throng of jabbering people walking about on it, and dressed in typical eighteenth century attire, is separated as a tall, dark-haired man trots down on his horse. The camera focuses on him - on his broad shoulders, his strong jaw, his slender fingers wrapped around the reins, his warm, honey-coloured eyes - and Lily , as she watches, has to admit to herself that James looks quite handsome in Mr. Phillips’ deep blue coat and matching breeches.

Phillips suddenly halts his horse. In front of him, her back to him, stands a young woman with deep red hair knotted into a low bun, the bottom of her neck left bare. Unlike everyone else on the street she doesn't seem to notice the gentleman’s brooding presence and is too busy looking through her wicker basket. Phillips clears his throat, making himself, as well as his impatience, known to the woman; she looks over her shoulder, unbothered, before slowly turning around.

“I beg your pardon, sir,” she says, looking up at him, although showing no signs of being intimidated, and no intention of moving from his path.

Phillips’ mouth slightly drops at the sight of the woman's face, which James admits to himself would have also been his natural reaction, as Lily, with a few strands of hair framing her face, looks exceedingly pretty in her character’s cream-coloured, long-sleeved town dress.

“It is I who must beg your pardon, Madame,” Phillips says, bowing his head slightly.

Lucy’s eyebrows rise slightly. “But I am no dame, sir. Just a blacksmith’s daughter.”

“With your simple cotton dress you are quite handsomer than any silk-clad lady I have ever had the pleasure to meet in high society,” he says, his voice dropping an octave.

“I thank you for the compliment and pray that you will excuse my person for overstepping, sir, but I'm afraid that pretty speech will only bring you unwise relations.”

Phillips is taken aback. “The same might be said for your cheek, Miss - ”

“Miss Edwards, sir. And I intend you no ill by this.”

“Well, Miss Edwards, I thank you for your well-intended, however misplaced, advice and take leave from you before forming any  other unwise relation. Good day.”

He bows curtly and, as Lucy is standing in the middle of the street, still not showing any intention of moving to a side, he is forced to move around her with his horse. The screen goes black and the audience breaks into another round of applause.

“Ladies and gentleman, Lily Evans and James Potter!” Jimmy says, clapping along with the crowd. “Now I _really_ enjoyed the banter and the little backs and forths that happen between the two of you throughout the movie, and I must not have been the only one, judging by what has been circling around the Internet.” A small giggle slips out of his mouth. “Have you two heard of _Jily_?”

James and Lily look at each, the same lines of confusion marking their foreheads.

“ _Jily_?” James says. “As in James and Lily?”

“Bingo!” Jimmy says, whipping out a sheet of paper form under his desk.

Lily’s eyes widen in horror at the sight of it. Depicted on the sheet is a surprisingly realistic drawing of James and her, in various states of undress, in the middle of what looks like a very intense and steamy make out session.

“People are drawing half naked pictures of us!” Lily says, leaning closer to the drawing, her face torn between horror and amusement.

The audience, along with James and Jimmy, is in shambles, unable to contain its bubbling laughter.

“They're not only drawing pictures of us, they're also writing fanfiction about us. Not about Lucy and Mr. Phillips, but about _you_ and _me_ ,” James says, holding his sides.

“You knew about this and you didn't tell me?” Lily says, her eyes opening like plates.

“I didn't want to scare you!”

She points to James in the drawing. “Scare me? I wouldn't have been scared, I would just have been surprised as to why someone would ever draw you with a six pack! He doesn't have one,” she says, stage-whispering to the audience.

“Hey, I do have a six pack! This is hard as stone!” he says, slapping his stomach.

“I'm sure it is, James,” Jimmy managers two say between two hiccups.

“Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but _Jily_ is not a thing,” Lily says. “He's like an annoying little brother to me.”

A sad awe rises from the audience.

“It's, true. And it's more than I could've expected from her, she barely tolerated me when we first met,” James says.

Lily rolls her eyes. “That's not true.”

It was very much the truth.

* * *

**_July_ _2016_ ** _, Lily’s apartment, London_

 

No, no, no, no, no, _no_.

It couldn’t be possible.

When Hestia Jones, Lily’s friend and manager, had told her a couple weeks back that the casting directors of _Sign of the Times_ were considering James Potter as her co-star, she had laughed it off as a silly joke, thinking that Bard, the director, had enough common sense in her to reject the idea; because why in hell would she ever want a musician - if one could even call him that - to star in her film? It just didn’t make sense.

Had Bard not seen the videos going around on the internet where James Potter had been blatantly disrespectful to interviewers and talk show hosts, shamelessly yawning when he got bored and leaving the set when he decided he had had enough? Had she not read the reports about his drunk driving and how he had used his fame on numerous occasions, flirting his way out of speeding tickets? Or the reports about how many hotel rooms his band and him had trashed, knowing that mummy and daddy would pay for it?

All that must have gotten a side glance, owing to the fact that he could play the guitar and sing _somewhat_ well, that he was reasonably good-looking, and where his good looks didn’t reach, he had plenty of charm and overconfidence to spare, which had thousands of fans saying things like _“father my children”_ , _“someone hold me he’s so HOT”_ or _“i could come just from listening to his voice”_ all over social media.

Lily couldn’t wrap her head around why Bard would risk her movie having a bad name before they had even started filming it. She couldn’t even start to imagine what working with James will be like.

Actually, she could.

If he was anything like in his interviews, he would probably definitely be exceedingly cocky, thinking that he was the best thing that had happened to the film industry since Charlie Chaplin, would probably definitely demand bathroom and snack breaks every couple of takes, and would probably definitely get mad when he messed up his lines and then blame Lily for it.

 _Boy_ , she couldn’t wait to work with him.

She locked her phone and set it on her bed, falling back onto her pillow. A minute later, it dinged. _“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA”_ appeared on her lockscreen under her friend Marlene McKinnon’s contact, followed by an image, and she opened it, only to find herself looking at a screenshot of the tweet announcing James’ being cast as her co-star.

 

 **Lily** : you think this is funny don’t you

 **Marlene** : fucking hilarious

 **Marlene** : best news i’ve heard in awhile

 **Lily** : well i’m glad my bad luck makes at least one of us laugh

 **Marlene** : are u really complaining about having to work with james potter?

 **Marlene** : he’s like the most desired bloke atm

 **Lily** : also most arrogant and rudest bloke atm

 **Marlene** : you forget that you used to have the biggest crush on him when we were 14 lol

 **Lily** : WILL YOU LET IT GO THAT WAS MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO

 **Lily:** when he wasn’t in a band yet and was just known as “fleamont & euphemia’ potter’s sweet and well-mannered son”

 **Marlene** : still

 **Marlene** : how does it feel to know that you will be acting with your childhood crush?

 **Lily:** bloody awful

 **Marlene** : i bet your 14 yo self is on the fucking roof

 **Lily** : more like ten feet deep in horse shit

 **Marlene** : OH MY GOD

 **Marlene:** i just realised something

 **Lily** : ???

 **Marlene** : doesn’t he play the role of your love interest in the film?

 **Lily:** yeah so?

 **Marlene** : YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO KISS

 **Marlene** : AND TOUCH

 **Marlene** : A LOT

 **Lily** : fuck me

 **Marlene** : don’t worry that will be his job

 **Lily** : *middle finger emoji*

 

Speaking of kissing, a terrible thought started nagging at the back of Lily’s mind. She jumped off her bed, tripping on her unmade sheets, and ran to her desktop which was overflowing with the last few month’s movie scripts that her manager had sent her and that she had managed to read through. She ransacked through the pile, not bothered by the fact that she was rumpling and ripping up the pages, until she finally found what she was looking for: the script of _Sign of the Times_.

She had devoured it in one sitting when her manager had sent it to her a few weeks back and had been overjoyed when she had learned that they were considering her for the female lead. When she had gotten the role, she had celebrated the news that same night with her closest friends. Unfortunately, James Potter had to pop out of nowhere and prance his way to the spotlight, ruining what had the potential to be a perfectly good film.

Well, not yet, but Lily trusted that he would.

She rushed through the pages of the script until she found what she was looking for, and it practically fell out of her hands.

Shit.

She unlocked her phone again, her conversation with Marlene popping onto the screen.

 

 **Lily** : FUCK

 **Lily** : I’M GOING TO HAVE TO FILM A SEX SCENE WITH THE GIT

 **Marlene** : you’re kidding

 **Marlene** : HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 **Marlene** : this is the funniest thing ever

 **Lily** : no its not

 **Lily:** i dont want to be anywhere near him

 **Lily** : much less when he’s only got his willy covered

 **Marlene** : but your 14 yo old self would die for a chance like that

 **Lily** : IM NOT 14 ANYMORE IM 25

 **Marlene** : bet your 2006 diary entries would disagree

 **Marlene** : “dear diary, i’m always gonna love james fleamont potter no matter how old i am”

 **Lily** : i never said that

 **Marlene** : liar liar pants on fire

 **Lily** : you’re enjoying this too much

 **Lily** : i might withdraw your “invitations to my friend’s premieres” privileges

 **Marlene:** nice one

 **Marlene:** play the “i’m a famous actress” card on your peasant friends

 **Lily** : i would never do that <3

 **Lily** : speaking of acting, would you help me read through my lines tomorrow?

 **Lily** : i want to have practiced a little before we meet with the cast on monday

 **Marlene:** sure babe

 **Marlene:** pass by campus tomorrow around noon we can find a quiet place near the library

 **Lily** : thx <3

* * *

**_August_ _2017_ ** _, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, L.A._

 

Lily blushes at the memory of her conversation with Marlene.

“But it's all water under the bridge, is it not my dearest Lily?” James says, extracting her from her thoughts.

“Because as soon as I met you, you charmed your way to my heart and I fell desperately in love with you, did I not, my dearest James? Or at least that's how people are writing it in fanfiction.”

“You heard it here first, ladies and gentleman!” Jimmy says. “So, Lily, a few people couldn't help noticing that we see your breasts in one of the less PG rated scenes.”

“You are quite right, Jimmy.”

“I don't know if you've heard of this, Lily, but, in America, we have a disease going around. It's very serious business and it only affects women,” He pauses, composing himself enough to not laugh. “It's called ‘Boobie censorship’.

He whips out a still from the film and Lily remembers the scene like she had filmed it yesterday.

* * *

**_August_ _2016_ ** _, Set of Sign of the Times, Outskirts of London_

 

James grabbed Lily’s face, planting his lips on hers. Her hands travelled to his curls, messing up the hairdo that the makeup artists had been trying to perfect between each take, and lightly pulling at the hairs on the back of his neck. He responded by letting his hungry hands quickly wander to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, erasing all space between them.

He turned her around, kissing down her neck as he started working on the complicated strings that kept her dress together. Lily let her head fall back, her face depicting nothing short of pleasure. Soon enough, the garment had been discarded, leaving her bare chested in front of the camera and a production of twenty people. She didn't waste any time before tearing the coat off James and unbuttoning his shirt, letting her hands wander along the lines of his toned chest.

“Cut!”

Lily and James instantly let go of each other, leaving a good two feet of space between the two of them. They were both out of breath, their chests heaving and their lips red from the passionate kiss they had just shared, although any passion that might have been felt between the two disappeared the moment Bard had yelled the cut.

“You seemed all hot and bothered,” James said, running his hair through his ridiculously messed up hair, a crooked grin painted on his face.

“It's called acting, I wouldn't expect you to know anything about it,” she snapped.

* * *

  ** _August_ _2017_ ** _, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, L.A._

 

At a closer look, Lily notices that the still has been edited, because two miniature Jimmy Fallon heads have been stuck on top of her nipples.

“Oh my god, that is quite scary. Is it some sort of rash?” she says, pointing to the small heads on her breasts.

Jimmy giggles. “Just so you know, this wasn't my idea, the Art Department here is very creative.”

“You should get yours checked Lily,” James says, squinting at the picture. “Make sure you haven't caught it.”

Lily pulls the collar of her dress away from her neck and looks down. “All good down here! So is this only going round in America?”

“It appears so, yes,” Jimmy says with a would-be serious look on his face. “And the symptoms only show in women.”

“Ah, let me guess, the symptoms are double standards and puritanism?” She motions to the still. “May I?”

Jimmy hands it to her. She tears a circle around each of James’ nipples than sticks them on her own.

“Look at that, a man’s nipples on a woman’s breasts. Will that get censored?” she says, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“The International Boobie Censorship Committee is probably panicking right now. ‘What do we do, Richard?” James says, pretending to tremble and adopting an American accent. “‘A man’s nipples on a woman’s chest? What do we do? Abort! Abort mission! Sound the alarm!’”

It takes a minute for everyone to stop laughing.

“So James, I read somewhere that, when you auditioned for the role, instead of reading your character’s lines, you performed one of your band’s songs,” Jimmy says, his cheeks still read from laughing. “And that the casting director was so touched by your performance that they decided you were the right person to play Jacob Phillips.”

“Yes, I sang _Get Away_ from our latest album titled _The Marauders_.”

“And is it true that the casting director was one of the first people to hear _Get Away_? That none of the songs from the album had been published yet?”

“Yes, that is quite true,” he says, matter-of-factly. “The fact that the song got me the role is one of the reasons why it became so important to me, and why it’s now on the album, actually. And I’ve been lucky enough to have it be part of the movie’s soundtrack too.”

“Yes, it’s funny how things work out.” Jimmy pulls out a microphone from under his desk. “Would you mind singing it for us?”

The crowd instantly cheers, agreeing quite animatedly with the suggestion.

“It would be my pleasure,” he says, an honest smile painted on his face.

Another stage lights up next to the main one, on which a drum set, a piano, a guitar, a bass and a few microphones have already been set up. The musicians soon follow, taking their positions and James takes the microphone from Jimmy’s hand, then walks to the second stage. He takes his place at the top of the stage, placing the microphone on its pole. The lights dim as he takes a deep breath.

The first few soft notes of the piano fade in and, after a few seconds, James starts to sing, his lips mere inches from the microphone, his voice clear and modulated, almost echoing through the room. Two of the female musician’s voices join in, and their voices play harmoniously with his.

Even from where she’s sitting, Lily can see that a wrinkle appears between James’ brow when he starts to hit the higher notes, and a cheeky grin pulls at the corners of his mouth as he does so without his voice wavering. The drummer smashes on the drums. The orchestra explodes into a thousand harmonious colours and James voice becomes louder and clearer, he bobs his head, his grin widening, his eyes crinkling, and Lily can almost hear the smile on his voice as he sings.

The beat slows down again and James’ voice dims, softens, a light echo of it heard through the room. He sways his upper body from side to side as he sings the chorus and the beat picks up again.

The orchestra wakes up and he pretends to play on an invisible drum, like a teenage boy imitating his favourite rockstar. Lily can’t help biting her lip to stop a smile from appearing on her face at the sight of it.

His voice overpowers all the instruments as he hits the last high notes, more melancholic, but more powerful than the rest, becoming louder, huskier with the song reaching its climax. He’s shaking from the effort as he practically shouts the last verse.

His voice fades out and he sighs of relief, his cheeks bright, his hair messier than before, and slightly out of breath, but with the biggest grin on his face at having succeeded in singing the song.

For the first time, as she claps along with the rest of the crowd, Lily can start to understand what the casting director must have felt as they watched him perform - watched the pure, but raw energy radiating from him - and why it landed him the role.

She hadn’t always been a fan of his music though. In fact, for a long time, she would get out of her way to not listen to it.

* * *

**_September_ _2016_ ** _**,** Set of Sign of the Times, Outskirts of London _

 

“Do we really have to pretend to like each other in front of the crew?” Lily hissed as James held the door for her before walking out of the studio himself.

“It's just makes working easier for everyone, doesn't it?” he said, strolling up to her, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Haven't you ever heard that actors who hate their guts have more chemistry on set?”

“Well that would explain our _total_ lack of chemistry, then. I knew all along that you secretly liked me.”

Lily simply rolled her eyes.

“Say, Evans, the band is doing a little private show tonight in Soho and I was wondering if you'd do us the honour of attending.”

She plastered a smile on her face. “You know, I would, but I don't want to.”

“For an award-winning actress, you're having trouble hiding your true feelings towards me.”

“Which would be?”

“That you're in love with me.”

She scoffed. “You're deluded.”

“I'm sure you're actually dying to come to the show, but you can't because you have to keep up this cold facade.”

“This might be hard for you to understand, but just because you've had a red carpet roll out before you since you were born doesn't mean your music is all _that_. Or you for that matter. Some people are actually immune to your flirty attitude and your charming smile.”

James grinned. “You think I have a charming smile?”

“Not the point.”

“Oh, but it is. It is.”

They remained silent for a moment as they walked through the parking lot, and James smile morphed into an earnest expression, a crease appearing between his brow.

“But seriously, Evans. I _am_ trying to get along with you.”

“I didn't seem to be a priority when you got interviewed by that reporter. What was it you called me again? A ‘wannabe celebrity trying to kiss her way up the Hollywood ladder’? Or was it something else?”

James’ cheeks grew hot at the mention of the infamous article. “I already told you, that Skeeter bitch got mad because I wouldn't give her any gossip on the band, so she completely twisted and manipulated what I said. I never even said something remotely similar to that!”

Lily looked at him through squinted eyes. “How am supposed to trust you? After the disrespect you've shown towards other people you've worked with these last few years? After how you treated talk show hosts, interviewers, journalists and even policemen who've pulled you over for speeding? Why should I believe that what that Skeeter said isn't true when you've been displaying that same exact behaviour for years?”

“You know what? You're right. I've been a prick, an absolute dickhead!”

“To put it lightly,” she said, crossing her arms.

“But I've grown out of it! People have idiotic teenage phases all the time, they just don't happen to have theirs documented like mine all over social media for everyone to see!”

“So you're the victim in this situation?”

“No, what I'm saying is that, yes, I was an idiot. The most insufferable, arrogant, disrespectful tosser you have ever had the misfortune to meet!”

“And the misfortune of working with.”

“That too. But I'm trying to convince myself that that's not me anymore! And convince my parents too,” he added as an afterthought. “Cause they won't put up with this shit any longer.”

“You're going to have to convince me too.”

“Challenge accepted.”

Lily eyed him suspiciously, not knowing if she should trust this outburst of honesty. “I'll see you tomorrow at work, Potter.”

“Not if I see you first, Evans!” he said to Lily's already retrieving figure heading towards her car.

She turned around, nodding at him, and James wasn't sure whether he had imagined the corner of her mouth quirking up almost imperceptibly.

* * *

_August_ **_2017_ ** _, London, Lily’s flat_

“Did you have fun on the Jimmy Fallon show?” James says, following Lily into her flat.

“It was lovely, although I think the _Let’s see in how many different ways we can embarrass Lily_ segment could have been skipped,” she says, dropping her keys onto the table in the hall.

“Nah, you're cute when you're embarrassed. Such as now,” he says, seeing the effect his words had had on her, her cheeks becoming rosy.

She rolls her eyes. “I'm not embarrassed.”

“Sure, sure. Hey, could I see that script you were talking to me about on the plane ride?”

“Sure, it’s in my room, on my desk.”

He walks through the living room and into her room, stopping in front of her desk. On it stands a cardboard box labelled _Lily's old things_ and whose contents seemed to have been spilled all over the desk. He rummages through the pile searching for the script until his eyes fall on _James Potter_ written in a glittery, cursive handwriting. His curiosity gets the best of him. He picks it up and looks at the cover where he reads _Lily's diary._ A smirk spreads across his face. He flips back to the entry containing his name and see that the date is _September 21st 2007_ , more than 10 years ago.

 

_Dear diary,_

_Today I saw a picture of the Potters with their son James in the paper. I can't believe how fit he is. I think I fancy him very very much and that I'll always fancy him._

 

“What are you doing?”

James jumps. He looks up at Lily whose eyes are opened as plates at the sight of her old diary in James’ hands.

“Give me that,” she says, stepping towards him.

James jumps back, a grin stretched across his face. “‘James is so dreamy. He has the prettiest hazel eyes’,” he reads.

The rosiness on Lily's cheeks intensifies. “It's not funny, give it to me!”

She leaps toward him with an open hand, but he swiftly moves out of the way.

“‘James is so handsome and sweet.’”

She grabs his arm. “Stop!”

“I didn't know you had a crush on me, Evans!”

“ _Had_! Past tense! I was fourteen years old!” she says, almost wrestling with him.

James turns away from her and stretches his arm out of her way. She climbs onto his back, as if he were giving her a piggyback ride, and reaches out to her diary.

“Give it back, you tosser!”

“Never! I'm gonna frame this in my bloody living room! This is worth fucking gold, Evans!” he says, waving the diary triumphantly.

He suddenly slips on the rug and they collapse onto the bed.

“If you don't give it back I'm gonna start biting, Potter!”

“Kinky.”

The sheets get tangled between their legs as the scuffle continues. James finds himself underneath Lily, his hips framed by her knees. She takes a moment to catch her breath, her hands still holding his arms with a deadly grip, and James notices how her entire face has gone red. He grins his insufferable smirk and her breath catches in her throat, as if suddenly realising the position they're in. Her eyes fall to his lips which he absentmindedly dampens.

Without a second thought she leans forward and kisses him. Her hands are still tight around his wrists, but he manages to wiggle out of her grip. He discards the diary, tossing it to a side. His hands go to her sides, bringing her closer to him, arching her back. Her shirt rides up a couple inches and he gladly lets his fingers brush against her skin, making goosebumps appear on her skin.

She suddenly rolls off him and grabs her diary.

“You’ll never find this again.”

James is slightly taken aback, partly because of her sudden move, mostly because of having had Lily pressed up against him in a horizontal position, but he quickly recovers.

“I don’t care, ‘I would kill to snog James Fleamont Potter’ is forever imprinted in my brain!”

He sits up on his elbows, his shirt crumpled, showing a bit of his midriff his hair ruffled in that _I’ve-just-had-incredibly-hot-sex_ way, his lips reddened from snogging. Lily regrets having rolled off him so soon at the sight of him sprawled on her unmade bed, a boyish grin spread across his face.

“And you didn’t even have to kill anyone to snog me.”

“Except my high standards and my principles. RIP Lily’s high standards.”

“James Potter is not high enough for your standards?”

“You would be surprised.”

James slides to the edge of the bed and sits in front of Lily. He places his hands on her hips tentatively, looking at her through his eyelashes, and, when she doesn’t protest, he brings her down to him. She willingly obliges, lowering herself on top of him.

He presses a soft kiss against her lips, barely brushing his lips against her.

“Just admit you had a crush on me,” he whispers, his breath tickling her skin.”

“Have. Present tense.”

 


End file.
